Its time for new boots.

[Enzo's Dad]

I am looking for ideas for work boots. I need something that is safe( I put my fiscars into my foot once wearing sneakers) and comfortable. I had a pair of wolverines for 4 years but its time to move on.

I do have a tractor supply near me so i am open to ideas there

 

[flyingcow]

As someone who had wore cheap boots for decades, I now buy red wings. Good arch support, dry, all around good boots. If I don't buy a premium boot, I have arch/ foot problems. If you get 4 yrs out of a pair of boots, go for a good pair. I have access to two red wing dealers that both are good old fashioned shoe stores.

 

[Doug MacIVER]

domestic mfg with usa quality and price. Minnesota made Redwing, Wisconsin"s Weinbrenner, or Warren Buffet's Carolina Boot. all good stuff. they've all got web sites. have a day

 

[tigger]

I went with the Timberland Pro series. Steel toed and super comfortable. Highly recommend them.



http://shop.timberland.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4208474

 

[bassJAM]

I've got a lot of friends who are huge fans of Red Wings, I checked them out a few years ago but couldn't find a pair that I found comfortable. I've had good luck with Carolina boots, I had one pair that lasted me about 6 years and I only threw them away because I think my foot grew a little wider. I'm 2 years into my current pair of Carolina's and they look great as long as I remember to use a little minks oil every now and then.

 

[prezes13]

Because of my line of work I work for local water dept. I need good and water proof boots, usually i buy red wings. Carolina's are also good, I had a pair of chippewas logger boots and they were great. Red wing if you have a dealer near by has a clearance section, and you can buy great boots pretty heavily discounted.

 

[jotul8e2]

For any meaningful protection you will want a steel toe, possible a metatarsal guard as well. Met guards are made for fending off heavy falling objects, however, not sharp edges, so the protection from a square blow from an axe might not be 100%.

Not all steel toes are created equal - some are not even steel. There are 50 ft./lb. rated and 75 ft./lb. rated toes. For working with firewood I would want 75 ft./lb. ratings, and I would want steel rather than aluminum or composite. There are also boots specifically made for use around chainsaws, but they are seldom carried in stores - do an online search.

Red Wing makes some excellent boots, and I use one of them for my own logging work. It is just a plain, ordinary work boot without steel toes, however. Carolina makes some good product, to be sure. So does Timberland. I am not all that big a fan of Weinbrenner for this kink of work - their toughest boots just do not appear all that tough to me.

Getting the right fit is important for comfort. Carolina makes several widths, Timberland just one, mostly, or medium and wide in some. Red Wing makes several widths and has specialty stores around the country that can do a much better job of getting the right fit than can a farm or western wear store that has to carry lots of different brands.

 

[xman23]

I had Bates for 3 years, worn for work ever day. Amazing the soles still look almost new. These were there safety toe, not steel. For a long motorcycle trip I just got a new pair. This time I got water proof without a safety toe. Same sole. Check out how light these are. I don't really like boots, but these are as comfortable as low shoes.

 

[firefighterjake]

I'm very hard on boots . . . Red Wings have worked out well with me. Added bonus was learning that I could get them resoled for a fraction of a cost of buying new . . . now instead of racing slicks I have a full tread and a boot that is broken in to my feet.

 

[Tommytman]

Chippewa makes a great boot. I worked for a concrete company a while back and my boots always managed to hold up through some serious abuse.

 

[chrispr1]

Bates, Carolina, Chippewa, etc. If you know your size and what you want, the best place I've found is www.americanmadeworkboots.com

 

[Doug MacIVER]

hey, whatever boot you choose, try to buy American made. there are so few domestic manufacturers left they can use your support. get a kick out of the old names. "Bates" was located in Webster,Ma. till Wolverine bought them back in the 70's. became noted for their "Floaters" and dress shoes not work and hunting boots. ex-father-in-law was the stitching room foreman 1960's till the closing. we used to manufacture all of their cushioned insoles. have a day

 

[Doug MacIVER]

crossed my mind during the day. the Bates dress shoe line was called ,"Phi-Bates". Floaters for casual and light work, Phi-Bates for dress, enough to get some of HUSH Puppies $$$$$$. the Sears' family retired to luxury.

 

[Enzo's Dad]

As a follow up went shopping for boots almost everything is made in china. Chippewa's,Carolina, Irish setter by redwing. Timberland is Vietnam. I went with caterpillar boots , made by Wolverine, they were the most comfortable steel toe boot

 

[mustash29]

http://www.lehighoutfitters.com/ is the place I use, pretty good prices and they have killer sales several times a year.

I've been wearing Michelin's for quite a few years. Very light weight (allmost like a hiker) and quite durable, great sale prices.

 

[mustash29]

http://www.lehighoutfitters.com/Products/search/Composite_Toe_Boots/Gender-01/b-MICHELIN/

 

[BrotherBart]

If it ain't Corcoran or Matterhorn I ain't wearing it. Made in the foreign Republic of Martinsburg, PA. Except for dress and casual shoes. Allen Edmonds all the way.

 

[Doug MacIVER]

original Corcoran factory around the corner from me in Stoughton, Mass. Famous for the paratrooper boot. H.H. Brown the owner originally from Worcester. owner Warren Buffet.

 

[BrotherBart]

Of course my old guy Rockport walking shoes are made down the road from where I used to work. In Vietnam.

 

[Doug MacIVER]

Of course my old guy Rockport walking shoes are made down the road from where I used to work. In Vietnam.

to the best of my limited knowledge, Rockport never had a domestic mfg. facility. I believe they did detail out a few styles to domestic makeup manufactures for a while. back in our New England Leather Show trade show days we hated to see them in our booth. sample and send overseas to copy.

 

[infinitymike]

I went with the Timberland Pro series. Steel toed and super comfortable. Highly recommend them.



http://shop.timberland.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4208474

Being in construction for 30 years, I've tried a lot of different boots.
Those are in my top list for arch comfort, but the stores that sold them near me don't carry them in an 8" tall size.
The 6" height irritated the back of my upper ankle area.
When it comes to boots I'm not one to order on line.
I gotta try them on.

The best I ever wore were Herman Survivors, they were waterproof, super warm, and super comfortable.
I would buy them every Black Friday at a Walmart in CT near my sisters house.
But they stopped making them and I cant find them any where.

So, Ive been wearing these now,
http://shop.timberland.com/product/index.jsp?c=1106592&productId=4208156&prodFindSrc=paramNav

They are great, comfortable, waterproof, warm for the winter but not to warm for the summer.
I pretty much wear them 7 days a week, year round.
Just last weekend, for the first time in who knows how long, I threw on sneakers while working around the house, and wouldn't ya know it I stepped on a nail out in the back 40
If they made them in black, I'd get a pair just for going out.
I'm sure my wife would love that

 

[Doug MacIVER]

Being in construction for 30 years, I've tried a lot of different boots.
Those are in my top list for arch comfort, but the stores that sold them near me don't carry them in an 8" tall size.
The 6" height irritated the back of my upper ankle area.
When it comes to boots I'm not one to order on line.
I gotta try them on.

The best I ever wore were Herman Survivors, they were waterproof, super warm, and super comfortable.
I would buy them every Black Friday at a Walmart in CT near my sisters house.
But they stopped making them and I cant find them any where.

So, Ive been wearing these now,
http://shop.timberland.com/product/index.jsp?c=1106592&productId=4208156&prodFindSrc=paramNav

They are great, comfortable, waterproof, warm for the winter but not to warm for the summer.
I pretty much wear them 7 days a week, year round.
Just last weekend, for the first time in who knows how long, I threw on sneakers while working around the house, and wouldn't ya know it I stepped on a nail out in the back 40
If they made them in black, I'd get a pair just for going out.
I'm sure my wife would love that

love this thread, all my old customers. Tmiberland started as Abington Shoe, Abington, Mass. J.M. Herman originally in Millis, Mass. Made up to 200 doz. pair/day of cushion insoles from the service station oxfords to their insulated waterproofs. My first job was trimming the offal from the upper cutters waste. we used it to cut facings and back stays for the uppers. cheaper for us to do this operation than have the highest paid shoe cutters waste their production on small parts. The Solomon family sold to Stride Rite in the late"80's. all their stuff now offshore. corner stone of my business along with John Fyre of Marlboro, Mass.

 

[Enzo's Dad]

I was depressed that i could not find anything at 2 different stores made in the US. I will agree that the Timberland Pro series were also comfortable, but I liked the Abrasion resistant toe on the Caterplilars. After wearing them for a whole day they are comfortable....only problem is that they are warm. Its a good thing that this is only a problem for 3 months in Connecticut.

I have found that if you buy the $200-$300 redwings they are made in the US

 

[Doug MacIVER]

sorry can't resist, pic of the loading dock area of where my dad's first space was rented from the Walk Over Shoe Co. in Brockton, Mass. He started here in 1949

Walk over is now part of Buffet's H H Brown Group. Dad's rent,$75.00/mo for some 10,000 sq.ft. Walk Over's corp office building in the background.one more. the middle building was their corporate offices, foreground building became Dartmouth Shoe, and the background became Potvin Shoe. Potvin was a baby shoe mfg who sold to a growing Stride Rite in the '70s.

 

[cityboy172]

My favorite boots are a pair of Danner Super rain forest with composite toe (composite for work, won't clear metal detector with steel toes or steel shanks). Second favorite are some Bates USMC rat boots that I picked 4 pairs up for ~$35 a pair, but no safety toes..